but laws in rhode island and maine and massachusetts prohibit stores from opening today. it's illegal there and this thanksgiving is special as well for the jewish religion. thanksgiving overlaps with hanukkah this year. that won't happen again if you're pulling out your calendar for 70,000. >>> all right, now to weather. 43 million american travelers grateful to avoid the nightmare forecast many had anticipated, but driving conditions were not perfect. one system dumped more than 9 inches of snow in parts of pennsylvania. boy, that made it tough to make up the hills. look at that, a separate system dropping several inches of rain from carolinas to maine causing flash flooding and icy roadways. nbc meteorologist bill karins joins us now. things hopefully getting a little bit nicer and we'll not have a difficult road trip to our grandmother's house. >> a lot better than yesterday. >> oh, man. >> happy thanksgiving to you, richard. snoopy flew by our window. >> i saw you checking it out. how did snoopy look? >> they are holding the balloons a little bit lower this year beca